Truss



Nov. 20, 1934. w. P. WALTER muss,

Filed Jan. 10, 1933 v I 3mm WP WwZZer Patented Nov. 20, 1934 TRUSS I I William P. Walter, Massillon, Ohio 7 Application January 10, 1933,'Serial No. 651,031

' 2 Claims. (01. 128-99) This invention relates to trusses and more parf ticularly to a truss which is so constructed that it may be easily and'co'mfortably worn at all M times.

- 5 An object of this invention is to provide a truss construction wherein the position of the truss will not be afiected by the movements of the wearer and the movements of the wearer will not have a tendency to cause the shifting of the truss.

Another object of the invention is to provide a truss of this kind which is so constructed that the tensioning means for the truss can move relative to the truss so that the position of the truss will not be affected by the twisting or turning of the body of the wearer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a truss which is so constructed that one portion of the device will be held stationary by means of the tensioning appliance while another portion may have movement relative to the first portion and by this movement will apply a leverage on the afiected part and thereby prevent disturbance of the affected part on account of the movement of the body.

The above and various other objects and advantages of this invention will in part be described and in part be understood from the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment, the same being illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:-

Figure 1 is a detail front elevation of a device constructed according to the preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the views, the numeral 10 designates generally an elongated pressure bar which has secured to each end thereof a tensioning means 11. This tensioning means may be in the form of a spring or elastic belt or other suitable means whereby the desired pressure may be applied to the pressure bar 10. This pressure bar 10 is curved longitudinally so as to conform substantially to the configuration of the front of the body and in the present instance is preferably round in cross section although I, of course, do not wish to be limited to this particular construction as the bar 10 may be constructed in any other desired cross sectional configuration.

A lower button 12, which has a threaded stud 13, is secured to a bridging member 14 which has the central portion 15 thereof raised from the opposite end portions and the button 12 is fixedly secured to the arm 16 of the bridging member 14 by means of a nut-17. A looped strap 18 engages aboutthe pressure bar 10, and is provided with; a channel or looped portion 19 which is disposed on an angle to the transverse axis of the strap 18 601 so that the bridging member 14, when mounted on the pressure bar 10, will be positioned on this pressure bar on the desired angle with respect thereto.

This strap or guide member 18 is provided adjacent each end thereof with elongated curved slots 20 through which bolts 21 are disposed so that the bridging member 14 can be angularly adjusted relative to the pressure bar. The pressure bar 10 is loosely positioned in the looped central portion 19 of the strap or guide member 18 so that when the device is mounted on the body of the wearer, the'bridging member can not only rock relative to the pressure bar 10, but the bar 10 and the bridging member 14 7 can move one relative to the other.

An upper button 22 provided with a stud or post 23 is secured as by a ball and socket joint 24 to the upper arm 25 of the bridging member 14, and this button 22 is relatively larger in diameter than the lower button 12. The inner or body engaging face or surface of the buttons 12 and 22 are concave, as at 26,,so that when these buttons are in applied position, they will not move relative to the body.

In the use of this device, the lever or bridging member 14 is positioned on the body with the lower button 12 engaging over the affected part and the upper button 22 positioned thereabove The angle of the lever or bridging member 14 can be adjusted on the body and relative to the pressure bar 10 by adjusting the guide 18 on the lever 14 through the medium of the adjusting bolts or screws 21. When the body flexes during the wearing of this device, the upper portion of the body will flex to a greater extent than the lower portion, and this will cause movement of the upper button 22 relative to the lower button 12, and where this movement is outward, the pressure of this outward movement will be transmitted to the lower button 12 so that the affected part will be more readily retained in desired position without the application of any additional pressure on the pressure bar 10.

It will, therefore, be evident that the amount of pressure on this pressure bar 10 can be reduced to the minimum where the belt or body encircling member 11 will not be uncomfortable and as any movement of the body as by bendchanges and modifications being restricted only i by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A truss comprising a lower button, an upper button, a lever, means for securing one end of the lever to the lower button, means for securing the other end of the lever to the upper button in a manner to permit rocking movement of the lever relative to the upper button, a pressure bar, a guide strap having a loopedintermediate portion engaging about the pressure bar,

said guide strap loosely engaging about the pressure bar and having transversely extending slots adjacent each end thereof, and means extending through said slots for securing the strap to the lever whereby to hold the lever in adjusted angular position relative to the pressure bar while permitting rocking and sliding movement of the lever and pressure bar one relative to the other.

2. A truss comprising a lower button, an upper button, a lever, means for securing the buttons to the lever one adjacent each end thereof, a pressure bar, a guide strap having a looped intermediate portion engaging about said pressure bar, said guide strap loosely engaging about the pressure bar and having transversely extending slots adjacent each end thereof, and means extending through said slots for securing the strap to the lever whereby to hold the lever in adjusted angular position relative to the pressure bar while permitting rocking and sliding movement 

